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TASTES OF THE GOLDEN SLAVONIA

If authenticity, home-made products, immense hospitality and centuries old wine tradition were mixed, one would get the Tastes of the Golden Slavonia. Indulge in them in one of the restaurants bearing the ‘Tastes of Golden Slavonia’ sign.

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BEĆARAC

Bećarac is woven into the life and customs of Slavonia, particularly Pleternica, which used to be a border area. Bećarac has always accompanied births as well as living and dying. In the region of Pleternica, bećarac is woven into the tradition of Šokci, frontier men and paurs. It is less known that it is thanks to Pleternica that the Austro-Hungarian Empire got to know Bećarac, while after World War II it reached even the American continent.   

The Pleternica attire adorns the unique Trg bećarca (Bećarac Square) celebrating the intangible cultural heritage that bećarac is, protected and carefully guarded by the UNESCO. The Bećarac Square has become the new centre of the town, the beginning of all the tourist stories and the end of the visit, with a souvenir shop opening its door precisely on the Bećarac Square.

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BARON FRANJO TRENK

The Trenk family hallmarked the first half of the 18^th century both in the military and in the cultural, economic, fashion and music life of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Požega area and the area of Pleternica. The Trenk family goes back to the ‘von der Trenck’ free baron family mentioned as feudal lords from the central Germany that in mid-15^th century moved to East Prussia. In 1718, the family of Franjo Trenk, headed by father Ivan, left Italy and father Ivan became the commander of the Krajina fortress in Brod on Sava.

For Franjo’s violent temper, with whom events such as the theft of the father’s flintlock, the wounding of his brother, the theft of the father’s sabre, dispersal of hucksters and theft of fruit on the market, beating a schoolmate on his head with a candle and hitting a mate with a torch during the Corpus Christi festival are connected, father Ivan found a solution and brought Franjo and his two brothers to the Jesuits in Požega.

The father of Ivan Trenk purchased the Pleternica estate from the widow of Count Teodor von Imbsen and on 16/11/1732 Franjo took over the management of the estate. He gathered around himself armed guards and called them the cops (panduri). In 1734, Trenk was sentenced to prison because he sent a cop of his to the Court in Osijek instead of appearing there himself. The trial took place because of a fight with the hajduks and peasants after two of Trenk’s horses had been stolen when during a fight a peasant was killed by Trenk’s cops.

Trenk used his connections to the nobility and came to the Queen, Maria Theresa, herself who pardoned him and, in return, he promised that he would fight for her with his 1,000 cops against the Prussian king Frederick.

Trenk gathered panduri from Požega, Pakrac, Brestovac, Stražeman, Velika, Kaptol, Cernik and mostly from Pleternica. He equipped 1,022 panduri who were festively dressed, accompanied by 12 musicians and, on 27 May 1741, they marched before the Queen and the court entourage at the Vienna court. All were thrilled and applauded enthusiastically the heroes from Croatia admiring their war attire and appearance.

Baron Franjo Trenk was a lucid warrior, lover and intellectual. During his short and turbulent life of 38 years, he survived 102 duels, was wounded 14 times, convicted twice and died on 4 October 1749 in Špilberg near Brno, where he was also buried (in a capuchin monastery).

There are three curiosities linked to Trenk and the panduri: introduction of military music as a psychological factor having an impact on the enemy called the ‘Turkish band’, introduction of the tie (necktie, kravat) into the military uniform, which made them recognise each other and thanks to which they were called ‘Croatas’, from where the name for today’s tie comes from, and the introduction of cuffs or ornamental buttons on coat and shirt sleeves into the military uniform in order to prevent soldiers from blowing their noses or wiping a greasy mouth with a sleeve, which also developed into a fashion detail that remains until today.

It is interesting that Franjo Trenk, the baron, said for himself that he was a Slavonian. He published memoirs that are selling well even today and there have been numerous stories and intrigues surrounding his death until today. Until now, the title of Baron Trenk has branded only the Baron Trenk brandy (Vinjak Barun Trenk) in Požega but there is always the possibility of branding the tie or ornamental buttons that could become the trademark of the Town of Pleternica.

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45TH PARALLEL

The Kutjevo vineyards are situated on the 45.3 parallel, the same one where there are world-renowned wine growing areas such as the Piedmont, Val du Rhone, Bordeaux and Oregon. Mostly white varieties are cultivated, the first place being taken by Graševina. It made itself at home in Slavonia, Baranja and Podunavlje.

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PAKRAC MUNICIPAL MUSEUM

Situated in the Mali dvor Janković facility (Small castle), this museum belongs to the part of the protected architectural unit of the Janković building, consisting also of the manor and two farm buildings. This is the centre of the former Pakrac estate and the rich and important family, built in the 18^th century. The complex is important because of the fact that nowhere in Slavonia were major farm buildings preserved along with the castle. It houses archaeological, cultural and historic material, ethnographic heritage, particularly interesting being the numismatic collection with one of the most beautiful Croatian, but also European coins coined precisely in Pakrac, in the first Croatian mint.

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SOVSKO LAKE (DILJ)

This is a unique sample of a natural lake in a hilly area. It is situated on the northern slope of Dilj at an altitude of 430 metres. It is surrounded by oak, hornbeam and beech forests, with a varied forest and wetland vegetation and a pleasant climate inviting you for an excursion in the nature.

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LIPIK SPA

Enjoy the spa whose riches were enjoyed also by the ancient Romans! Surrounded by the centuries old park, these natural springs of the healing thermal water have a constant temperature of 60°C at the source. Due to their chemical composition, they have excellent balneological features.

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THE SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF TEARS

In the very heart of Pleternica, there is the Shrine of Our Lady of Tears, a place for meeting, prayer, peace and quiet. In 2005, Pleternica was declared a Croatian Marian Shrine. All pilgrims are welcome and every visitor will be received as a dear guest of Pleternica.

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MADAME CLIQOUT

With the story of wine in the Pleternica area, there is also the story of Madame Cliqout who would come from France and who as a widow inherited vineyards in France and developed a successful business, turning the well-known oak barrels made of the famous pedunculate oak into barrique barrels. The conditions achieved with those barrels enable the wine to take over a part of tannin from the barrel.

In connection with Madame Cliqout, there is also the story that during the maritime war blockade she smuggled 10,000 bottles of champagne into Kenigsberg and from there to Russia so that her champagne became the official beverage at many palaces. There was no prominent ruler who would not want to enjoy the magic bubbles, the oldest champagne bottle in the world being the one found in the Baltic Sea, precisely Madame Cliqout’s. Moreover, the first placement of a cork into the bottle is connected with her as well as wine archiving.

Coming to Slavonia and the Pleternica area to get the famous barrels, Madame Cliqout donated wine seedlings from which later the well-known “Klikun” variety emerged (a wine with a greenish hue).

Thanks to Madame Cliqout and the Markota winery, the magical greenish liquid experienced another renaissance in the area of Klikun near Požeška Koprivnica, nowadays a well-known site for excursions by winemakers, pilgrims, cyclists and hikers.

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DIOCENESAN MUSEUM

Diocenesan museum contains a large collection of sacral art objects, a collection of works of modern and contemporary art. The ground floor of the museum exhibits objects from the 15th to the end of the 18th century, and the first floor from the 19th century to the present day. The museum's collection consists of sacral collection, ethnographic and graphic collection, a collection of plaques and a collection of modern and contemporary art. Sacral, modern and contemporary art collection are exposed in the permanently.

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SLAVONIAN BANOVAC

The mint in Pakrac existed from 1256 to 1260. After that, it was transferred to Zagreb. It is, if not the oldest, one of the oldest mints in Croatia. In the sources it is called camera de Puchruch or camera de ultra Draua. It is mentioned in a historical source (document of the Croatian-Hungarian King Bela IV dated 16 December 1256).

A Slavonian banovac was minted in the mint of Pakrac. It was medieval Croatian money intended for medieval Slavonia. Given the good quality, this money was in circulation in neighboring countries as well; Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bosnia. It is to be believed that our Pakrac kuna was the inspiration for today's Croatian money. Namely, before these coins, kuna fur was used as a mean of payment! Banovac was a silver coin with a kuna on the front and a patriarchal (double) cross with two crowned heads on the reverse side. And today you can forge your own copy of Slavonski Banovac and take it home as an unique souvenir!

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ALARM CLOCK

The alarm clock was invented in Pakrac! In the museum attic we keep one really special object, it is an invention, the alarm clock of Konstantin Haidenegg. Konstantin Haidenegg was the director of the Royal Post and Telegraph in Pakrac at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, and he is also mentioned as one of the councilors in the Representation of the Municipality of Pakrac.

One strange and happy circumstance introduced us to this man, almost unknown to us, despite his important function, which he probably performed in Pakrac for many years. His invention, an alarm clock from 1896, was found on the rubbish, and we almost never met this exceptional device and this exceptional man. Konstantin Haidenegg's alarm clock was patented in 1896 in as many as two foreign patent offices, one in Great Britain and the other in Switzerland. How much the newly patented clock was ahead of its time is shown by the fact that a battery charged with electricity was used for alarm purposes long before some cities in Europe even saw the light of electricity. The clock was basically mechanical, powered by winding a spring, but to set an alarm for specific needs in a day, week, or month, electricity was used from a battery that would trigger a bell that would serve as an alarm notification. We cannot help but admire the entrepreneurship and inventiveness of this Pakrac inventor who in the 19th century not only created his invention but also duly patented it abroad.

This is another proof that Pakrac was an inseparable environment from Europe at that time and that it could be compared to modern aspirations with larger centers of that time. What is sad is that a lot of the interesting people who made this city special and advanced have simply been forgotten and erased. One of the important tasks of the museum is to preserve the memory of these, which are an important part of the city and its history.

Taste

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SLAVONIAN TABLE:

Be it kulen, sausage or bacon, nobody leaves Slavonia hungry. However, the offer is not reduced to meat delicacies. Slavonia has always been a region rich in fish with angling as a part of life.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ACTIVE DAY IN NATURE:

Small hills covered in forests, lakes and rivers, numerous hiking trails and excursion sites make Slavonia a destination for both recreation and staying in the nature.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PAST AND THE FUTURE:

The space of Slavonia encompasses a large number of sites of international and national importance. Get to know also the intangible heritage of this region – dance the šokačko kolo (Šokci dance) and sing a bećarac.